The voice sent chills down Dominique and Hana's spines, but they refused to give in. Dominique tightened her grip on Hana's hand, silently urging her to stay strong and keep using the Hidden World Technique.
As they continued to move, the girls found themselves at the edge of a small cliff overlooking a river. The rushing water beneath them seemed to call out, offering a possible escape route. Dominique and Hana exchanged a glance, and at that moment, they both knew they had to take the chance.
They carefully climbed down the cliff, trying not to make any sound. The intruders were still searching, but it seemed they hadn't noticed the girls' change of location yet.
Reaching the river, Dominique and Hana waded in, using the water to mask their presence further. They allowed the current to carry them downstream but remained alert, constantly scanning their surroundings for any sign of the intruders.
Unbeknownst to them, their escape had been noticed by one of the intruders, a disciple named Niko from the Nightshade Assassin Sect, an organization known for its ruthlessness and cunning. The assassin was the one in charge of the capture as they took on these kinds of missions all the time.
He was searching for them like normal and would have missed them if he didn't notice something small rustling the bushes in the distance, followed by a small, blue head of hair.
Smirking to himself, he silently signaled for the others to search a different area and dashed toward their last known location.
Although he still couldn't sense them, at least there was a trail to follow, and as an assassin, that was all he needed.
Moving like a shadow, the assassin slipped into the water, following Dominique and Hana's trail downstream.
The girls continued to drift along the river, their exhaustion growing with each passing moment. However, they refused to succumb to fatigue, knowing their lives were on the line. After a few minutes of drifting, they spotted a small cave by the riverbank, providing them with an opportunity to rest and hide from their pursuers.
They crawled into the cave, concealing themselves behind the shadows of a few large rocks covered by tall cave grass. Dominique and Hana huddled together, cold and shivering, but they knew they couldn't let their guard down.
The two didn't speak a word to each other, knowing that the Hidden World Technique wasn't perfect. It might be able to mask their presence and make them blend in with the world around them, but it didn't actually make them invisible and couldn't silence their voice.
As they tried to catch their breath, the assassin from the Nightshade Assassin Sect made their move. Quietly, they approached the cave, using their own brand of stealth techniques to remain undetected.
Dominique felt a sudden chill, and her instincts screamed that danger was near. She glanced around the cave, her eyes desperately searching for any signs of movement. However, the darkness of the cave made it difficult to see anything clearly.
Before she could react, the assassin struck quickly and silently. All she saw was a black shadow move in the darkness, only for it to end up in front of her.
Knowing they'd been found, Dominique let go of Hana and pushed her deeper into the cave so she wouldn't be seen. With Hana's proficiency with the Hidden World Technique, they'd be hard-pressed to find her location unless he looked right at her or had his Soul Sense on her.
'NOOO!' Hana screamed inwardly, as she didn't want to see her only friend captured or killed right before her very eyes. She instinctively reached out, trying to grab Dominique, but it was too late.
As she looked up, a tall, skinny person, covered in all black, with a black scarf covering his face, stood before Dominique.
Grabbing Dominique by the arm, the man grumbled, "Do you know much effort it took to find you, little girl? We wouldn't have had to go through all this if you'd just let yourself get captured earlier."
"L-Let go of me!!" Dominique screamed, trying to wiggle her way out of his grip, but his hand was like a steel vice, refusing to budge.
"Sorry, kid, but I can't do that. Now, let's get going." He scooped up Dominique in his arms and scanned the rest of the cave.
'Hmmm… That's weird,' Niko thought, 'I could've sworn I noticed someone with her.'
However, he didn't find anything, even after giving it a second look. Shaking his head, he muttered, "I guess it was just my imagination."
Turning his attention back to Dominique, the little girl in his arms, he frowned slightly. He knew that the girl was related to a woman named Mira, and from the information he gathered, she was the one wreaking havoc for the Crimson Slayer Sect.
If he was being honest, he was reluctant to take on this mission, despite the high rewards. He didn't want to have a psychopath who could reduce entire Sects to rubble on his tail.
He might never have another peaceful day again!
Unfortunately, he was the best man for the job, who wasn't already on a mission. He had an Earth-Grade Physique called the Concealed Camoflouge Physique, which not only allowed him to blend into his surroundings easier, but his presence was also very thin.
Although despite its grade, the Physique was relatively strong, it couldn't escape the senses of someone in the Mortal Shedding Realm or above. Hell, even Soul Transformation Realm and Nascent Soul Realm cultivators could sense him if they tried a little.
Thus, they sent him in with a few others that weren't assassins, hoping that the Elders and Sect Master from the Battle Maiden Sect wouldn't pay attention to just him and would also focus on the others, giving him some hope of sneaking in and out of the Sect.
Trying to hold back his smile, Niko glanced at the squirming child in his arms and said, "Alright, time to go to sleep, little girl."
He raised his hand to karate chop her neck, but Dominique's Spatial Ring flashed before he could put her to sleep, and a Mid-Stage Heaven-Grade throwing knife appeared in her free hand.
"What?!" Surprised, he cried out, but what happened next shocked him even more!
Without hesitation, Dominique channeled all her Qi into her arm and jammed the knife into the crook of his neck! It felt like she had pierced a super thick and durable leather, but the sharpness of the knife made up for her lack of strength and slowly dug into his skin.
"ARGH!!" Niko screamed in pain and dropped the girl.
"YOU BITCH!" Losing control of his emotions for a second, something an assassin should never do, he sent an empowered kick toward Dominiqe's abdomen!
*Crack!*
"Ugh!" Dominique grunted in pain as her body bent at a 90-degree angle at her waist. The sounds of bones breaking echoed throughout the cave as she crashed into the wall.
Struggling to her feet, she tried to ignore the numerous broken ribs and maybe even spine, but that proved to be harder than she initially thought.
'Mother has broken my bones before, but it never hurt like this.' Dominique thought as she held her stomach in pain.
What she didn't know was that Mira wasn't just carelessly breaking and fracturing her bones during training. She would do so in a way that would allow her bones to heal in the quickest possible time.
However, Niko wasn't concerned about that. Even if he shattered every bone in her body, he wouldn't care!
Using the wall as support, she managed to stand up. Looking back at the assassin, her eyes grew cold, and she thought about the few other throwing weapons Mira and Maria had left her, but she didn't take them out.
In a head-on battle, she was no match for this man. The only way for her to defeat him was if she took him by surpr-
"So, you had a little trick up your sleeve, huh? I guess you aren't related to that psycho woman for nothing. Even this little girl is crazy!" Niko said and took out a healing pill. Taking out the knife, blood gushed out of his wound, but the pill did its job, preventing blood loss.
"This is a pretty good knife." He muttered with bright eyes before storing it.
Looking back at Dominique, he disappeared from his position, reappearing right in front of her!
"It seems like Mira did a poor job at educating you. Don't worry, though. I'll be sure to give you a taste of what the real world is like." He said sinisterly and raised his fist before punching her right in the temple.
"UGHH!" Dominique grunted as she slammed into the wall again, using the last of her energy to scream, "MOTHER! SAVE ME!"
Afterward, she passed out, slumping onto the ground.
Niko snorted in annoyance but didn't say anything else and just picked up Dominique like a sack of potatoes, then walked out of the cave.
